To an able-bodied male labourer, per day, 1s. A male labourer of ordinary strength, per day, 10 d. Boys between 12 and 16 years of age, according to their capacities, 4 d. to 8 d. One of inferior strength, but able to perform a moderate day's work, 8 d. STATISTICAL Information required for His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief. 9. Average net weight of hogsheads of sugar. 10. The difference in truss. 11. Average and net weight in England. 12. Average freight per cwt. 13. English charges. 14. Cost of labour in time of slavery, on an estate averaging 100 hogsheads. 15. Number of slaves on such an estate. 16. Average price of slaves. 17. The cost of maintaining them. 18. Any other particulars that may occur to you as illustrative of those different points. ST. LUCIA. : ST. LUCIA. My dear Sir, Castries, 31 August 1857. IN reply to your Excellency's note of the 22d instant, I am sorry to say that I cannot venture to give information as to the average cost of production on sugar estates generally in this colony. I can only speak with anything like certainty as regards my own experience on one or two properties; were I or any other man to do otherwise, you would inevitably be misled, and, like one of your predecessors, Mr. Darling, arrive at very "lame and impotent conclusions." 2. My answer to your first six queries is, that one estate in the immediate neighbourhood of Soufriere, where alone in this Colony is there a hope of continuous labour with water power, with all its works, plant, and plantations in good order, and with ample live stock, can be made to average 100 hogsheads of sugar, with from 30 to 35 puncheons of molasses, at an annual expense of about 1,000l.; one-half of this sum (500) would be required for labour on the estate; the other half would suffice to cover manager's and overseer's salaries, the necessary supplies of stores and lumber, the purchase of one or two mules, and as many oxen, to keep up the live stock to a working average. The 1,000 7. in question do not refer to interest on capital, nor to the extraordinary casualties to which sugar estates are sometimes liable, such as fire, cattle, epidemics, earthquake, hurricane, and inundation; during my ten years' experience of Soufriere property, I have, save hurricane, suffered from all these calamities. About six years ago my bagasse houses were accidentally burnt; last year I lost 14 negro houses in the same way, and had to incur an extra expense of 150l. in rebuilding the latter. 3. In reply to your seventh query, I beg to say that 1s. 9 d. per proof gallon was the average price of rum last year in St. Lucia, and that the price during 1857 has been about 2 s. 2 d. per gallon. 4. To query No. 8, I reply, that seven-pence (7 d.) sterling was the selling price of molasses last year, and that 1s. to is. 2d. has been the usual amount paid for the article this year. 5. To queries 9, 10, and 11, I beg to say that the truss of our hogsheads, in the majority of instances, is 38 inches, and that such hogsheads net in England from 14 cwt. to 16 cwt. The difference in the net proceeds arises from the difference in the qualities of the sugars from different districts. The sugars of the Soufriere parish are generally of a lighter and finer description than are the sugars of other parishes. 6. To queries 12 and 13, I reply, that average freight for some years past has been 3 s. per cwt.; the English charges, including duty, now average about 22 s. per cwt. The London charges are, I think, a little in excess of those of Liverpool. 7. To queries 14, 15, and 16, I cannot give any reliable information, as my arrival in St. Lucia dates from 1835 only, and it was not until complete emancipation that I had much experience of sugar cultivation, 8. In conclusion, and in reply to your last memorandum, I beg to say that the circumstances attending and governing the cultivation of sugar estates in this colony are very varied and perplexing; such, in fact, is the diversity of soil and climate in this Colony, small as it is, such is the diversity in the topographical characteristics of every estate, such the diversity of their manufacturing powers, and into such a diversity of hands have their managements fallen, that to attempt to average or draw general conclusions from individual reports of estates, however ccrrect these individual reports may be, would be sure to lead to error. The capabilities and futures of St. Lucia are not to be foretold from its present condition. I verily believe that nowhere is the old proverb that, "God sends meat, and the devil sends cooks," so well illustrated as in St. Lucia. Nearly all the best estates are either in bad hands, or are badly situated as regards labour; by "bad hauds," I mean, are in the hands of people who are either bankrupt in capital or credit, or nearly so, or who, possessing both capital and credit, possess not the necessary pluck and enterprise to turn the resources of their properties to better account than they now do. The prevalence of these two classes of people, and the sure, but steady decrease of the available labour on all the larger sugar estates of the Colony, are its great evils now-a-days; and it is my firm opinion that unless a continuance of present prices, coupled with a large introduction of new labourers, take place, those great stimuli of social progress, credit and capital, will gradually diminish and be extinguished, and no civilised person of enterprise, education, or capital will find it worth his while to remain in, or to attempt to turn the resources of the Colony to good account. From the year 1835 up to 1857 I have witnessed a sad, but steady decline in the respectability and means of the upper classes; and unless the future offer a better reward to intelligence and worth than has done this long period, the whole standard of morality and social order will infallibly and gradually sink to a lower and a lower level. His Excellency H. H. Breen, Esq., Administrator of the Government. I have, &c. (signed) Charles Bennett. Windward Islands, Barbadoes, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 3d instant, No. 83, Executive, together with its several enclosures, and which is in reply to mine of the 19th ultimo, in which I communicated to you the opinions which I had formed on the labour question of the West Indies. 2. 1 observe, with much satisfaction, that your opinion, formed after an experience such as very few persons have had the benefit of, is in accordance with my own on what I consider the point of essential importance, viz., that free labour is infinitely cheaper than slave. 3 I entirely concur with you as to the causes of failure, when such has occurred, with this single reservation, that I have never yet been able to trace a single case in which an estate has been thrown out of cultivation, or the proprietor seriously injured from want of labour. In point of fact, the greatest complaints of distress have been made at periods when, owing to the low price of sugar, the cultivation was said to be unprofitable, and when, of course, there was little inducement to the capitalist to employ labour. 4. I concur generally in your remarks regarding the small creole proprietors. You seem to have misunderstood me on one important point. I never meant to express an opinion that it would be desirable to prevent a labourer from investing his earnings in land. I subscribe unreservedly to all that you have expressed on that subject. I only wish that the planters would, for their own sakes, encourage such valuable members of society to cultivate the sugar cane by manufacturing for them on more liberal terms. 5. I had reference to a class of persons generally known as squatters, and supposed to occupy lands to which they have no claim, and for which they pay no rent. I meant to express an opinion which I believe is strictly correct, that the planters have failed to hold out sufficient inducements to retain their labourers. I believe that they would have acted wisely had they encouraged the creoles to remain on their estates on any terms, and that they might have succeeded in doing so to a very considerable extent. 6. I confess that you have not succeeded in convincing me of the liberality of the planters of St. Lucia. I cannot believe that anything would prevent an extensive emigration from Barbadoes, where there is unquestionably a considerable surplus of labour, and where land is very dear, to the adjoining Colonies, where labour is said to be scarce and land cheap, if proper inducements were held out to the labourers. 7. It is generally admitted that Barbadoes could spare a considerable number of labourers, enough probably to supply the demands of the planters in the other islands of this Government. It is likewise well known that emigration has been tried, and that the Barbadian labourers are dissatisfied with their treatment in other Colonies. 8. With regard to St. Lucia, it appears from your statement, that the rate of wages is quite as low as at Barbadoes, while the planters "seem averse to task work, and only resort to it when they are unable to procure regular labour by the day." I find that the vicious system which has been almost entirely abandoned in Barbadoes, of mixing up the questions of rent and labour, prevails in St. Lucia. 9. It must be quite obvious that labourers will not be attracted to St. Lucia from Barbadoes so long as the advantages are manifestly on the side of the Colony where the labour is superabundant. You express the universal opinion held in these Colonies, when you affirm 0.13. ST. LUCIA. Encl. 5, in No. 2. ST. LUCIA. that the labour of the native population is the most suitable for them, and that Africa would be the quarter from which a deficiency could be most advantageously supplied. 10. Unfortunately there is no disposition on the part of Africans to emigrate to the West Indies, and hence the demand for coolies. I admit freely that I have the strongest repugnance to this immigration. I believe that it would be infinitely better that less sugar should be made in the West Indian Colonies than that labour should be supplied by such means. 11. But I am not satisfied that any case can be made out to justify such an exceptional policy. I believe that the tendency of this immigration is to prevent the planters from taking those measures which would, in all probability, insure them an adequate supply of creole labour. 12. I have shown clearly that the St. Lucia planters have not held out any adequate inducements to the creole labourers in this island to emigrate, and that while property is, perhaps, six times as valuable in Barbadoes as in St. Lucia, the estate labourer is better off in the former Colony. 13. It is not therefore to be wondered at, that the labourer in St. Lucia takes the first opportunity to purchase land for himself, and that his place is not supplied by others. 14. You have expressed no opinion, as to whether proper encouragement has been given to the labourers to cultivate the sugar cane for themselves. I am aware that the small proprietors are doing so to a great extent. It is obviously the surest mode of attracting Jabourers. I am thoroughly convinced that in no other Colony has that encouragement been given to the same extent as in Barbadoes, and the impression which I formed in St. Lucia was, that the planters discouraged the cultivation of the cane by their oppressive charges for the manufacture. 15. I have read Dr. Bennett's letter with great attention. I cannot admit, either that there would be any difficulty in filling up the form of return which I sent, or that the result would be unsatisfactory. My object was to compare the cost of cultivation in St. Lucia with that in Barbadoes. I adopted a form agreed upon by two agricultural societies, the members of which are experienced planters, and I have found no difficulty here in getting the most detailed information from every manager to whom I have applied. I have got returns from estates in various parts of the island, and having soils of a different character. 16. As to the conclusion to be drawn from these returns I would observe, that what I want to ascertain is simply this: Is the cultivation of the cane more expensive in St. Lucia than in Barbadoes; and if so, what is the cause for its being so? In order to satisfy my mind on this point, I do not require returns from more than a very few estates in different localities. Dr. Bennett has given his experience of one in the Soufrière Quarter. The produce averages 100 hogsheads, and the expense of cultivation is 1,000l., one half of which is said to be for labour. The net weight of the hogsheads in England is estimated at from 14 10 16 cwt. The Barbadoes average was 15 cwt. There is no material difference in the cost of production or in the proportion of labour. It would have been more satisfactory had the statement given the quantity of land in cane cultivation, and also the proportion, if any, of ratoons. Dr. Bennett does not account for any rum. 17. It is of course impossible to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion as to the cost of cultivation without knowing the extent of cane land, but I see nothing in this statement to lead me to doubt its being a fair estimate. 18. Dr. Bennett seems to fear, that in drawing conclusions from such statements as his own, a person may be misled. Now the cost of labour appears to be tolerably uniform throughout the island, and about half the expense of cultivation is under this head. I am unaware that there is any other branch of expense that should be materially higher in one part of the island than another. Inferiority in soil, remoteness from market, liability to drought, would of course affect the value of the estate. Such questions may be important to the purchaser of a particular estate, but they have little bearing on the subject of my inquiry. 19. It appears from Dr. Bennett's statement, that sugar can be produced at about the same rate in St. Lucia as in Barbadoes: viz., at 107. per hogshead, gross, or deducting the offal crop, at about 8., or probably 11s. per cwt. Now when the last complaints were made to Parliament of the distress in the West India Colonies, the returns from six estates in St. Lucia showed that the net proceeds had been from 16s. to 17s. 3 d. per cwt. 20. It is true there was a wide difference in the cost of production, which was in some cases more than double what it was in others. In one single instance it was as low as 10 s., and in two cases it was above 20 s. I may observe, however, that the estates on which the cost of production was the lowest were conducted on the métairie system, and can therefore hardly be considered a fair estimate. 21. I am fully convinced that sugar can be produced, on an average of years, in St. Lucia at about 10 s. per cwt., and that any excess over that rate must be owing to extravagant or bad management, or to some casualty. 22. Dr. Bennett is of opinion that nearly all the best estates are either in bad hands or badly situated as regards labour; and he explains that he means by bad hands, persons bankrupt in capital or credit, or who, possessing both, are deficient in enterprise. He is of opinion that there has been, from 1835 to 1857, a steady decline in the respectability and means of the upper classes; whereas I find that your opinion, based upon your knowledge of the transactions at the registrar's office, is that many planters have paid off old debts and have become enriched; and I am myself aware that the proportion of resident proprietors in St. Lucia is large as compared with other Colonies. 23. I must now approach the practical question, which is the rate of wages which the planters of St. Lucia are prepared to offer to immigrants. You state in paragraph 11 of your Despatch, that the offer of an increase of wages to the labourers "would be productive of no good result;" but in paragraph 13 you express an opinion that the planters should be prepared to give the coolies a higher rate of wages than that at present established. 24. The point to be ascertained is, whether the St. Lucia planters are prepared to offer the Demerara rates for labour, which certainly cannot be stated at less than 1 s. 6 d. per day for the usual tasks. I understand from your Despatch that you have applied to the planters demanding labour for information on this head. 25. For my own part, I have no doubt that wages in St. Lucia ought to be increased to 1 s. 6 d., a fair rent being charged per acre for land, and for a house when supplied; and if this increase were accompanied by more liberal treatment of the labourers, I have little doubt that the demand for labour would be fully met. His Honor the Administrator of St. Lucia. I have, &c. (signed) F. Hincks. ST. LUCIA. Enclosure 6, in No. 2. (No. 92.) Sir, St. Lucia, 19 September 1857. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's Despatch of the 9th instant, No. 143, in reply to mine of the 3d instant, on the subject of the labour question in the West Indies. 2. I am much gratified to find that the views which I had ventured to express on this question have generally met with your Excellency's concurrence, and I shall now offer some further remarks which have been suggested to me by the perusal of your Excellency's Despatch. 3. No comparison can, in my opinion, be instituted, upon anything like fair grounds, between two Colonies whose circumstances differ so materially as Barbadoes and St. Lucia. The fact that the Barbadoes estates can command a superabundance of labour, while those of St. Lucia are nearly abandoned, may be traced to causes altogether unconnected with the treatment of the labourers. The Barbadian finds no unoccupied tracts of land to purchase or to squat upon, and if he is dissatisfied he has no alternative but to emigrate. The resolution to do so, however, is no sooner formed than it is combated by his well known attachment to the place of his birth, and hence the facility of retaining him upon the estates. All these circumstances are reversed in the case of the St. Lucia labourer, and no inducement at all compatible with the profitable cultivation of the estates is sufficient to secure his labour if he can avoid it. 4. In spite of the attachment of the Barbadian to his native country, and the other motives which are supposed to retain him upon the estates, his unwillingness to emigrate may be overcome; and I quite agree with your Excellency that we have here a supply of labour which, if properly managed, might have been turned to good account by the other Colonies, and by none more than by St. Lucia. It is well known that great numbers of Barbadians have emigrated to Trinidad, Demerara, and St. Kitt's. A few also have occasionally been introduced into St. Lucia, and I may instance, as a sign of the times, that Mr. John Goodman, jun., has just imported 21 of them for the Pointe Sable estate, in the quarter of Vieux Fort. 5. The great difficulty as regards Barbadian immigrants, is that the planter who goes to the expense and trouble of importing them is the one who derives least advantage from their services. The scarcity of labour gives rise to competition, and an unscrupulous neighbour often contrives to attract the new comers by the offer of higher wages. In many instances this sort of rivalry has been attended with the worst results to both parties, and hence the little encouragement given by our planters to this species of immigration. Otherwise the labourers that have been introduced from that quarter have proved a valuable acquisition to some of the estates, nor does it appear that they are dissatisfied with the treatment they have received. 6. I have no more partiality for coolie immigration than your Excellency, and I am persuaded it will prove in the end both expensive and troublesome; but in the absence of native Jabourers, of African labourers, and of Barbadian labourers, except with the risks just adverted to, our planters seem to rely upon coolie immigration as their only resource, and as measures have been adopted for carrying out this scheme, I think it should have a fair trial. So long as the price of sugar is kept up, as at present, it will be difficult to convince the planters that any means which will have the effect of increasing the production of that great staple can be injurious to the Colony. 7. I am not prepared to say that the St. Lucia planters have given much encouragement to the labourers to cultivate the sugar-cane. Planting in halves, however, prevails upon several estates, and the Richefonds, in the quarter of Dennery, is cultivated entirely upon that principle. Where the cultivation in halves is on the planter's land, the latter finds all the stock and the carts to carry the canes when cut by the labourer, pays all the expense of Encl. 6, in No. 2. |